Purpose: The unemployment rate among disadvantaged youths (aged 15-34 years) in large parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America has become a global concern. The concern in this article is that most WIL programmes could not facilitate a smooth WIL-to-work transition. The purpose of the article is to examine the roles of partner stakeholders in the…

Youth unemployment rates in the United Kingdom are almost triple that of adults (11.3% vs. 4%), particularly impacting the employability of young people with complex needs, of whom 61.8% are unemployed. Interventions facilitating transition into work can operate at individual, community and government levels. The main objectives of this review…

This study explores the role of the welfare state in reducing young people not being in education, employment, or training (NEET)s across 15 European countries. Using data from the Survey of Adult Skills in the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) in combination with the Social Expenditure Database, we conducted…

Purpose: In recent years, South Africa has continued to experience a high rate of young people who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET). The emergence of the concept 'NEET' affords researchers an opportunity to more closely examine the life situations and experiences of this population sub-group. The purpose of this paper is thus…

Youth unemployment can be understood as a public health risk. This paper explores the multi-disciplinary literature in this field, and its relevance to support for NEET (not in education, employment or training) young people. Unemployment may have a scarring effect on health, with lifelong consequences for individuals and for society. To the…

Precarious jobs and unemployment have become common issues for many young adults due to the unfavourable labour market situation in Portugal. Against this background, lifelong learning (LLL) policies have been called in to play a role in creating economic growth and supporting the social inclusion of young adults in vulnerable educational and…

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that in 2016 over four million young people in the United States were "disconnected," meaning they had not been enrolled in school in the previous three months and were not working. Although this number has fallen in the years since the Great Recession (which officially ended in 2009), as the…

In the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2007-2009, youth unemployment in the United States reached its highest level since the Second World War. Only about half of young people ages 16 to 24 held jobs in 2013, and recent estimates suggest that about one in five people in this age range were neither working nor in school. This paper draws from…

In the nation today, 4.6 million young adults ages 16 to 24 are out of school and unemployed. At the same time, there are roughly 7 million job openings, and employers are clamoring for skilled workers. What's wrong with this picture? These young people, commonly referred to as "opportunity youth," must overcome significant barriers to…

Opportunity Works is a national initiative to dramatically improve the life trajectories of low-income young people ages 16 to 24 who are not in school or working. This population, often called "opportunity youth," comprises a significant segment of America's potential workforce. Yet they are also the young men and women who face the…

The European Training Foundation (ETF) has been providing regular input to the European Commission in implementing the work programme of the Eastern Partnership, a joint policy initiative aimed at deepening and strengthening relations between the EU, its Member States and its six Eastern Neighbours -- Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova…

Led by Newark Opportunity Youth Network (Newark OYN) in New Jersey, key public and private organizations in Newark came together to focus efforts on supporting disconnected youth and transforming how they are educated and prepared for life, postsecondary learning, and careers. This report describes how Newark OYN emerged and is charting its path…

There is a critical need to identify solutions to the unemployment of high school dropouts. When a student prematurely leaves school, the economic, social, and political impacts result in negative consequences for the individual and the community. Of the nearly 2.2 million students who drop out of high school every year in the United States,…

Just as the economic downturn and narrowing of the curriculum have prompted school districts to cut art classes, a nonprofit organization in Baltimore gives disadvantaged youth the opportunity to create art, earn a stipend, and learn valuable job skills. Each summer, Art with a Heart hires about 40 young people to make marketable art--tables and…

In this paper we will briefly review recent trends in employment outcomes for disadvantaged youth, focusing specifically on those who have become "disconnected" from school and the labor market, and why these trends have occurred. We then review a range of policy prescriptions that might improve those outcomes. These policies include: 1)…